Soul Marks
by pcworth
Summary: Alex felt conflicted about her soul mark. Why wouldn't she? She was a scientist after all and soul marks were imprecise at best so she didn't care that she was one of about 30 percent of the population that actually had one. But would that change?
1. Chapter 1

Alex had never given her soul mark much thought, well at least not as an adult. She supposed there was a time there when she was younger that she found it romantic or something like that, but that had been a long time ago. For the most part she never gave it any thought – after all it was on her back so she couldn't even see it without looking in the mirror.

Not everyone had one – in fact it was believed less than 30 percent of the world's population had them. There was no genetic reason for why some people got them and others didn't. Alex's own parents didn't have them and neither had any of her grandparents.

They came in different shapes and sizes and could be anywhere on your body and resembled tattoos. Two soul mates didn't even have to have the same design – it was actually rare if they did. In fact, most didn't because the mark was supposed to signify something about yourself.

For Alex it was a stunning blue ocean wave that was on her upper back centered perfectly. It wasn't large – only a little smaller than the size of her fist.

And while they resembled tattoos no one would ever mistake a soul mark for a tattoo because of the color. Every mark's color was so vivid not even the best tattoo artist could match it, although many had tried.

As near as Alex could tell the color on her mark was exactly like that of an ocean wave under a clear day under the sun.

If you were going to get one, it would appear on your body about the same time puberty set in – so as if that time in your life wasn't stressful enough the universe decides to tell you that there is one other person on the entire planet for whom you were destined to be with.

When she had gotten hers she hadn't even known it because she couldn't see it. It was her mom who had seen it first when Alex had donned a swimsuit to go to the beach. She remembered standing with her back to a mirror, looking over her shoulder staring at it.

Alex saw several issues with having one – first it was impossible to have a serious relationship with anyone because as soon as they saw your soul mark and knew you destined for someone else, well there was no point in pursuing a relationship. Secondly, not every person who had one found their soul mate. Just because you had one of these didn't mean your match magically appeared in your life.

All in all it seemed like soul marks made for a more lonely life.

Yes, there were people who tried to have relationship with people who weren't their soul mates, but it was a risk. Because what happened if you married that person, had kids with that person and then met your soul mate later on in life?

While some people actively searched for their soul mate – there was even a few websites out there designed to help people find their match – Alex had never bothered.

The only way for people to know if they met their match was because of the mark – the vivid color of it would begin to fade when you first got near the person. You could literally be in a stadium with thousands of people and it might start to fade and you would have no idea which of those people was it. Alex found the whole thing very imprecise. She had read some studies on the marks when she got older but there was no definitive distance you had to be from your soul mate for your mark to begin to fade.

The fading would then last 3 to 5 days until it disappeared, except it didn't really disappear. It only disappeared from anyone being able to see it except your soul mate.

So yes, Alex found it all to be problematic, especially when hers disappeared and she had no idea it had happened.

"We're going to have to retrace your steps from the last couple of weeks," Kara said matter of factly.

Alex hadn't wanted to involve her sister with this because she knew that Kara would be all gung ho to find Alex's soul mate. On Krypton, they didn't have such things as soul marks so Kara was very fascinated when she came to Earth and saw Alex's for the first time.

But Kara had found out because despite working for a top secret federal agency, it appeared that no one in said agency could keep a secret.

Alex had just finished up a workout and had showered using the DEO facilities. When she was standing at her locker in only a towel getting ready to grab her clothes to change into, one of the other agents gasped and asked her why she hadn't said anything. Alex had no idea what she was talking about until she mentioned that Alex's soul mark was gone. She had immediately gone to look in a mirror and there it wasn't – after all these years it was gone.

And she had no idea when it had even started fading.

Alex had managed to keep it a secret for a few days and then there was Kara flying into her apartment demanding to see that the mark was indeed gone and now it was turning into just what Alex didn't want it to be.

"Kara, I have been all around the city," Alex said. "It could literally be anyone. Hell, it could be someone who was just passing through the area and happened to get somewhat near me. That was probably what happened since I was at the airport."

It was there that she had caught her latest case, one that ended up involving the National City Police Science Division and one Detective Maggie Sawyer. Their initial meeting had started off a bit brusque – which Alex was willing to take the blame for, but by the end she felt like Sawyer knew her stuff. J'onn thought it would be a good idea if they kept up a good relationship with the NCPD so it probably wasn't going to be the last time she would have contact with Sawyer.

"Well we could put your locations on that soul match website and see if anyone responds," Kara said.

"Absolutely not," Alex said. "People put way too much information about themselves on those sites, which is how many of them end up being scammed. Also, did you forget I work for a top secret federal agency so I can't exactly be like hey was there anyone over at Fifth and Main on Tuesday while I was taking down a literal alien."

"Ok, but I think we should still check it out those sites because your mate's mark would have disappeared too so maybe they are out there looking for you and they can post things about where they have been."

Alex sighed. She certainly hoped whoever it was, was not that stupid.

That was the third thing she probably hated the most about these marks. While your souls may be destined for each other, you didn't necessarily need to like the person – at least not at first. It wasn't a love at first sight kind of thing. Yes, she had read accounts where people claimed they felt an instant connection to their mate. But others had admitted they hadn't looked twice at the person until they confirmed it was their mate and even then they got to know each other before they felt in sync.

"Look, if you want to go through those sites, go right ahead," Alex said. "Just count me out."

"Why are you so against this? Not the sites, but the whole soul mate thing in general."

Alex had wondered that herself and she wasn't sure she had a good answer. She had gone on dates before obviously and she never really felt comfortable. She couldn't really explain it. She had thought maybe it was because she knew the person wasn't her soul mate.

"I don't know," Alex answered. "I guess I don't like the idea of the universe telling me I'm supposed to be with someone."


	2. Chapter 2

When her phone rang, Alex saw it was Maggie so she answered, "Danvers," she said.

"Hey Danvers, do you want to see a dead body?"

And that is how it started. After that Alex and Maggie worked a series of cases together – spending a lot of time with each other – and not just at work. When Maggie took her to the alien bar for the first time, Alex had to admit she was a little taken aback. Outside of her sister and J'onn, most of her experience with aliens had been in tracking and capturing them. She certainly wasn't used to socializing with them.

But Maggie was so relaxed about being there at the bar, that Alex couldn't help but relax as well. She gave Alex a different way of looking at things, and Alex wasn't sure if Maggie even realized it. Everything about her was unique and Alex felt good to have a friend that she could talk to about work – something she couldn't do in her line of work.

Given the way things had started between them, Alex was surprised they made it to the friendship stage.

Sure, it was a bit of a surprise to Alex when she found out Maggie had a girlfriend but only because Alex hadn't really thought about what Maggie's sexuality was, but she was taken a back when Maggie had said something about her being gay. Alex had said she wasn't but then the thought got into her head and she began to consider it. Was she gay? But if she was, wouldn't she have known by now?

And every time she thought about it, she thought about Maggie. She thought about her reaction to Maggie's girlfriend breaking up with her and how unfathomable it was to her that someone would choose not to be with Maggie.

Finally, she had to admit – to herself at least – that she found Maggie attractive.

That is what led her to begging off the last couple of times Maggie wanted to hang out. She decided she needed some time apart to figure out the things going on in her head and her heart.

The first time she had done it through a text, but the second time Maggie had called her to ask her to meet her at the bar that night and Alex told her she couldn't because she had plans. Maggie sounded disappointed and said, "Ok, well, since you are the busy one next time is on you."

Alex had felt bad about lying as she had no plans and could barely remember having plans with anyone but Maggie as of late.

Two nights later she had just gotten home when her phone rang – it was Kara. She considered ignoring it, but her sister could be at times hard to ignore.

"Hey Kara,"

"Are you home?"

"Yes."

"Be there in a few," she said before hanging up.

It was a few minutes before there was a knock on the door and Kara was there holding two large pizzas and her laptop.

"I know you aren't interested in the whole soul marks websites, but I think I have narrowed down some options for you," Kara said as she handed the pizzas over.

Her soul mark. Somehow, she had managed to forget about it as her mind had been tackling other things. That mark was supposed to tell her who she was meant to be with and maybe that was the answer she needed to quiet the thoughts in her head.

"Ok, let's see what you found," she said reluctantly.

"Serious?"

"Yes."

"Oh, wow," Kara said, and she got her laptop out and started to boot it up while Alex opened one of the pizza boxes.

"Kara, what did I tell you about flying with pizzas?" Alex said, pulling one piece off of the top of another.

"Sorry."

It didn't take long for Kara to get to the website that she wanted Alex to look at.

"See this guy here, he posted he was at the airport that day you were there and that his mark disappeared after that," Kara said.

Alex looked at the picture of the guy and what he posted. He was reasonably good looking although Alex got the feeling the suit and tie wasn't a regular ensemble but instead a profile picture to make himself look successful. She almost rolled her eyes as the whole thing as what was the point of making a profile pic like that when the whole point of this website was to find the one you were meant to be with – not to pick up dates.

Of course, she thought, he might just be a con artist as the airport was a crowded place and you probably increased your chances of finding someone at a place that crowded.

"No," she said finally.

"What do you mean no? How can you even know that from this?" Kara said.

"Details Kara. He was there that night, long after I was there," Alex said. "Hell, his layover was less than an hour. That isn't my soul mate."

"Alright, he's not the only option," Kara said, and she switched over to another similar website. "This one, now this guy works really close to the DEO headquarters. You could have gotten near him at any time."

"Yeah, I don't think so."

"Come on, you barely glanced at it."

Alex took a bite of her pizza even as she took a close look at the screen so that Kara didn't think she was blowing her off entirely. "He's not the one," she said finally.

"You can't know that just by looking at him," Kara said.

"I'm pretty certain I can."

"How?"

She looked at her sister, who was clearly wanting to do all she could do help her find her soul mate, but how could she tell Kara that she was fairly certain her soul mate was not going to be a man. Her and Kara shared everything about their lives but even as the opportunity was there for her to say it, she couldn't – at least not say it directly

"You know, I haven't dated much and I've told myself that was because of that mark on my back. I mean what is the point? If there is only one person I'm meant to be with why go through the motions with anyone else?" Alex said. "And I guess I just never thought that maybe I wasn't dating any guys because I wasn't interested in them."

"Of course, you wouldn't be interested in them if you knew they weren't your soul mate. I think that's probably typical."

"Yeah, I suppose," she responded.

"Are you ok?" Kara asked suddenly. "I know we haven't hung out much lately, but I thought things were going well. You made a new friend in Maggie, but you don't seem happy overall."

"I just have a lot on my mind," Alex said. "My soul mark for one. I didn't even know it had disappeared. I just took it for granted that it was still back there and you checking these sites – the guy at the airport, the guy near the DEO – I literally have no idea when it started to fade so who is to say it was around either of those spots."

The airport. The place she had met Maggie. It wasn't as if the thought hadn't already came into her head, but it was also a useless one. She already knew the answer to that.

It had been an odd conversation that happened after Maggie's girlfriend had broken up with her. It had prompted Maggie to mention some past relationships that hadn't worked out including one where Maggie had been seeing a woman who hadn't been up front with Maggie about having a soul mark. It turned out that the woman had a tattoo done over the mark, matching it perfectly. Alex had heard of other people doing this – the result was it dulled the coloring of the mark, so it did look like a tattoo. People would have it done to mask their mark to make it possible for them to date without having the whole onus of a soul mate looming over them.

Personally, Alex had never thought of having it done, but that was mostly because she didn't really date anyways.

Maggie had broken up with the woman after finding out about the mark as she had been pissed about being lied to.

Alex hadn't offered up the information that she was one of the population with the marks.

"Are you worried now that you aren't going to find your soul mate?" Kara asked.

"There are plenty of documented cases of people never finding their mate," Alex shrugged. "It could happen to me."

She had always known that was a possibility and maybe that was another reason she didn't like these websites. There seemed to be a hint of desperation in them as people were searching for the one. Again, she thought about how unfair these marks were to those that had them.

"Yes, or you could find him tomorrow," Kara said optimistically.

"What if it isn't a him? What if it is a her?" she asked, almost immediately biting her lower lip as she waited for a reaction.

Kara cocked her head slightly and her eyes got a little bigger. "You think it's a woman?" she asked finally.

"Maybe, I don't know," Alex said. It opened the floodgates and suddenly Alex was telling Kara about everything that was going on in her head, from her feelings for Maggie to her soul mark, to her questioning herself and how she couldn't know she was gay to how looking back she was pretty sure she had been crushing on former best friend back in the day.

When she stopped talking Kara threw herself at her, practically tackling her with a hug. "I hope you know that it doesn't matter to me if you are gay or not, I just want you to be happy."

"I know," Alex said, extricating herself from Kara's grip.

"And you are sure that Maggie isn't …"

"She's not. Just her reaction to what that other woman did tells me she isn't. Plus, she seems to date a lot, and if she had a soul mark I don't think she would be doing that. I mean what would be the point of putting yourself through that?"

"But you do have feelings for her?" Kara asked. Her sister had all but said it already but still she asked.

Alex merely nodded yes.

"Well, there is one good thing about all of this – now I have a whole new search I can do on these sites," Kara smiled.

…

Alex finally contacted Maggie after not seeing her for a couple of weeks and made plans to meet her at the bar. She was a bundle of nerves walking in as she had tried to figure out what to say ahead of time that didn't sound completely stupid. But when Maggie smiled at her after she told her how maybe Maggie had been right about some of the things she had said about her well those nerves turned to butterflies. Maggie told her how happy she was for her and Alex believed her, but she didn't mention anything about her soul mark.

She had never really felt comfortable talking about it. The people at the DEO knew about it mostly because they had seen her back, but even with them she had never talked about it.

Besides, she reasoned it really wasn't anyone's business that she had one except of her soul mate.

That night had really lifted a weight off of her chest and it seemed like her life was returning to normal over the following weeks. Work kept her busy, but when she wasn't at work she was usually with her sister or with Maggie. She had even brought Kara to the alien bar one night to meet Maggie although she felt like Kara was being a little cool toward Maggie. It prompted her later in the evening to ask if there was something wrong, which Kara quickly said there wasn't, but Alex wasn't so sure.

All in all, the month after coming out to Maggie, Alex felt like her life was good. That was until they were shooting pool one night and Maggie asked her something that made her uncomfortable.

"So Danvers, when you are going to let me take you to a gay bar so you can start meeting women? You know women that aren't me."

"You mean women that might be a challenge at playing pool with?" Alex smiled at her hoping it and it the comment would mask what she was feeling inside. She hadn't really thought about going out to some place to meet women. Hell, she never even went places to meet men – at least not sober.

"Cute," Maggie responded. "But come on, when are we going?"

Alex ignored the question as she lined up her shot. She took her time and sunk the ball in the side pocket and started to move toward her next shot which she had already thought through before taking the first.

"We don't have to go if you don't want," Maggie said, clearly sensing her hesitation. "I mean if you think it's too soon or whatever, I just thought you might feel more comfortable having a friend with you the first time."

A friend, Alex thought. That was what Maggie was, but Alex couldn't help but feel things for the other woman that she knew she shouldn't.

Alex took her second shot and sunk it as well, before moving around the table. "Eight ball, corner pocket," she said pointing out her shot. A moment later the sweet sound of the ball going in gave her a momentary bit of joy before she realizing she needed to answer Maggie's question.

"Next weekend, maybe," Alex said. "Clearly, I need to find someone who can play pool."

"Ha, ha," Maggie said. "But next weekend should work great."

"Good," Alex said even though she felt anything but good about it. "Loser sets up the next game."


	3. Chapter 3

Before she knew it the next Saturday arrived - - the day she was supposed to go with Maggie to a gay bar. Kara was over at her place trying to help her figure out what to wear.

"Why didn't you tell Maggie you didn't want to go?" Kara asked.

"Because she would probably want to know a reason why I don't want to go," Alex said, looking at herself in the mirror and immediately rejecting the shirt she had tried on as an option. She pulled it off and went to her closet for another.

"Then why not tell her the reason?"

"I'm not ready to have that conversation with her yet, or maybe not at all," Alex said. "Thank God that damn mark was on my back where most people never saw it. And now no one can see it."

"I don't think the mark is the only reason you don't want to talk to her about it," Kara said. Alex kept her eyes on her clothes and not on her sister. Her sister wasn't wrong, but Alex also didn't want to have this conversation either. "Are you afraid to tell her about the mark or that you have feelings for her?"

"I don't need to tell her either," Alex said, picking out another shirt to try on. "What would be the point? What do you have against Maggie anyways?"

"Nothing," Kara said. "I think it's great you have a new friend."

"But …" Alex said, this time looking at her.

"But if you spend all your time with her then how are you ever going to find who you are supposed to be with?"

Supposed to be with – God, she hated that phrase. Why did she have to be cursed with this damn mark? Ever since it had disappeared, she had done some more reading on the subject and none of it had made her feel any better about it – especially the book she read about this woman with a soul mark who had spent her life trying to find her mate but never did. The woman had written ii when she was in her 80s and it wasn't published until after her death. This woman had tried to live a full life she had written but it never felt complete she said because she never found her one person.

"I don't know," Alex answered. "Right now, I'm less concerned about the time I spend with Maggie than I am at the prospect of going to a gay bar for the first time."

"You have taken on aliens single-handedly that I would even have a problem beating, I think you can handle going to a bar," Kara said. "Stop putting so much pressure on yourself."

"It's not just a bar, a bar I can handle," Alex said, taking a seat on the bed. "It's a gay bar, where apparently I'm expected to, I don't know flirt with other women while Maggie is there to coach me through it or something."

She paused. "Maybe I should call her and tell her there is some work emergency and tonight is not a good night."

"You can't put it off forever unless you plan on telling her why."

Alex sighed. "You're right, might as well get it over with. I go once and if she suggests it again, I can just tell her that it's not really my scene."

….

Alex was on her second beer and trying her best to act like she was having a good time and hoping she was pulling it off.

"Are you going to talk to anyone else but me this evening?" Maggie asked her.

So much for trying to appear to have a good time, Alex thought. She had felt uncomfortable since the moment she walked in here. She took another swallow of her beer.

"There isn't even a pool table here," Alex commented.

"Playing pool with me isn't any different than sitting here talking to me," Maggie pointed out.

"Sorry," Alex said. "I just need to relax a bit. This is all … I don't … I mean …"

"You don't have to explain," Maggie said. "And we don't have to stay here if you aren't having a good time."

"No, it's fine. Like I said I just need to relax."

As it turned out, to relax Alex needed a couple of more beers in her. The first time she talked to another woman – besides Maggie or the bartender – was when she was leaving the bathroom and bumped into her. She apologized quickly and ended up introducing herself to the woman whose name was Traci. They talked for about 20 minutes and Alex was uncomfortable throughout. At least when she used to go club hopping she was typically drunk off her ass and the guys were not interested in talking.

After another beer, she talked to Chrissy, who seemed to be interested in a one-night stand over conversation.

It was Maggie who rescued her from that chit-chat.

"Sorry," Maggie apologized. "I just … I have spoken to that woman before and I … I mean if you are interested that's purely up to you, but I didn't think you …"

She's cute when she is flustered, Alex thought in that moment and she really wanted to kiss her.

"It's ok," Alex said. "I wasn't interested in … in her."

"Good," Maggie blurted out. "I mean it's good that I didn't break anything up there."

There was a drawn out moment of awkwardness in that instant until Maggie finally spoke up. "Do you want to bail, maybe go to our spot and play some pool?"

Our spot, Alex thought.

"That'd be great," she said.

…

Kara was at Alex's the next morning to see how things went, much to Alex's annoyance. But at least she brought breakfast so Alex wasn't too upset.

"So Maggie stopped you from talking with a woman?"

"I wouldn't say it like that. I didn't want to be talking to her and Maggie rescued me from that," Alex replied.

"Yes, but wasn't she supposed to be there to help you with meeting women?" Kara pressed.

"Again, it wasn't like that," Alex said. "We weren't going into last night with the idea I was going to get every woman's number or anything like that."

"Yet, you leave the bar to go back to another bar to play pool with Maggie."

"Does me hanging out with Maggie really bother you that much?" she asked, feeling like she was having a repeat conversation.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt," Kara replied. "You have feelings for her and how do you expect that is going to end?"

Alex suddenly lost whatever appetite she had. "It will end when I find my soul mate and then whatever I feel for Maggie will go away because I'll be with who I'm supposed to be with. Because that is what this is all about right?" Alex said, getting up from the table. "God, the universe, fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it says I don't get to have anything in my life unless I find this one person in all the world that can see a stupid, fucking mark. You tell me how fair that is. Tell me why I can't spend time with someone that I like while I wait for whoever this other person is supposed to be?"

"Alex, I didn't mean …"

"I know Kara, I know, but for now can we just not talk about any of this."

"Yeah," Kara said.


	4. Chapter 4

Alex landed another right cross on the punching bag followed by another quick combination. Each punch did nothing to improve her mood, but she kept at it.

It was her mission. She was the one calling the shots, so what happened was her responsibility.

Another combination landed.

Her sister was currently resting in medbay under the sun lamps so her body would heal completely. Kara had been roughed up and it was all her fault.

She knew there was a risk for Kara on this mission. She knew about the kryptonite weapon. It was why she had ordered Kara to stay behind. But she hadn't been good enough and so Kara had disobeyed the order to save her life and the result was Kara getting hurt.

It wasn't just Kara getting hurt that bothered her. It was the way things had been between her and Kara since that morning after going to the gay bar. She shouldn't have lashed out at her that morning but she couldn't keep it inside any longer – how unfair she found all of this.

Things had just been weird between her and her sister ever since.

The guilt she felt was nearly overwhelming.

A sheen of sweat covered her body as she continued her onslaught on the bag. She had lost all sense of time as she continued to punish herself in the only way she knew how.

"I really don't think the bag can hold up under your questioning tactics."

Alex turned to see Maggie standing in the doorway.

"Supergirl called me. I have no idea how she knew my number, but she thought you might need a friend. And from the looks of it you could also use a shower."

"I'm fine," Alex said, going back to punching the bag.

She landed more punches as Maggie walked around and grabbed a hold of the bag, forcing Alex to stop.

"Supergirl is going to be fine."

Alex knew that her sister was going to alright and her body was already healing, but none of that really mattered to her.

"She's going to be fine," Maggie repeated.

"I know," Alex nodded. "I know."

"Then why are you in here destroying this poor little bag that had nothing to do with it?" Maggie asked.

Alex didn't answer but walked over to the bench while beginning to pull off the protective wraps from her hands. "It was my mission, my responsibility."

"I get that," Maggie said. "And from what I understand outside of Supergirl, and you, no one was injured. You got the alien you were after and again Supergirl is going to be fine so it was a successful mission. And you shouldn't be punching anything with a couple of bruised ribs."

"Like I said, I'm fine," Alex said. She threw one of the wraps into her bag and began on the other one.

"You didn't do anything wrong."

"Maggie," Alex said, feeling her frustration build as she pulled off the other wrap and tossed it. "I appreciate you stopping by but right now I just want to be left alone."

"Ok," Maggie responded. "Ok. I will leave you alone, but I'm here for you if you want to talk."

Maggie turned to walk out. "I just need a little time," Alex said. "But I do appreciate it."

"Anytime Danvers."

Alex gave her a slight nod and then turned away from Maggie while taking off her shirt. Maggie was right she needed a shower. Even her sports bra was covered in sweat.

"You have a soul mark."

Alex froze in place. Maggie was still behind her and the words that had just came out of her mouth were echoing in her ears.

Maggie could see her mark.

…

Alex was practically running into the room where Kara was lying under the sun lamps.

"Maggie saw my mark!"

"What?" Kara asked sitting up.

"She came here because you called and I told her I wasn't up for talking and I was going to take a shower and I was taking my shirt off and I didn't even know she was still standing there and she says 'you have a soul mark,' and it wasn't like a question exactly more like she was stating a fact she was unsure of but she saw it," Alex blurted out.

"Maggie is your soul mate? Maggie, the woman you already have feelings for, is your soul mate! That is amazing. But I thought you said it wasn't possible. What did you even say to her? Where is she now?"

"Nothing. I didn't say anything. I was so stunned she saw it that I didn't say a word and then next thing I know she says she has to go and she left."

"Wait, so Maggie is your soul mate and you didn't say anything and she walked away?"

"Yes and now I'm freaking out because what the hell, how can she be my soul mate, how could we have spent this much time together and I don't know, know this somehow? And why did she just leave like that? And why haven't I seen her mark if I am supposed to be hers? And why wouldn't she have said something about having one? And …"

"Slow down," Kara said getting down from the table and approaching her sister. "Her mark could be somewhere on her body that you don't see regularly like yours being on your back. You never told her you had one so it's not unusual she would also not say anything about having one. As for why she left, I have no idea, but she's your soul mate so you need to go talk to her."

"You're right," Alex said taking a deep breath to calm herself. "I just need to go talk to her. I should go do that now."

"You might want to take a shower first," Kara suggested.

Alex looked down at herself and realized she had been in such a hurry to talk to Kara she hadn't showered and was still wearing her sports bra with no shirt.

"Thank you," Alex said giving her a hug. "And thanks for calling her."

"You're welcome," Kara said.

"Ok I'm going to shower and go find her."

"Wait," Kara said. "Since me calling her brought her here where you learned she was your soul mate, does that I mean get the credit for finding her?"

"Yes," Alex smiled. "You can take the credit."


	5. Chapter 5

It took Alex longer than expected to find Maggie. It was partly her fault as she ended up going home to shower and change into some better clothes. She may have also delayed a bit because she was still very nervous.

Maggie was her soul mate. The very idea of it made her heart beat faster.

Meeting Maggie had literally changed her life even before she knew she was her soul mate. Maggie had made her not only take a hard look at herself but also at broader issues like the aliens who had made Earth their home.

She had tried calling and texting Maggie but hadn't gotten an answer so she had gone to her apartment but again no answer. In the end, and with a bit of a smile on her face, she found Maggie at their bar. But as soon as she saw her sitting there at the bar, somewhat hunched over the drink in her hand she began to be concerned.

"Hey," she said, taking a seat beside her.

"Hey," Maggie responded with less enthusiasm and without looking at her.

The bartender asked her if she wanted anything to drink but Alex said no, but Maggie took the opportunity to order another just before drinking down the rest of her current one.

"You ok?"

"Yeah," Maggie said, unconvincingly and again not looking at her.

Alex definitely knew something was wrong but unsure as to what. She knew it was possible that Maggie had no idea she was her soul mate because Maggie would have no way to know that Alex's mark had disappeared. Then again, maybe she did know and maybe she was just disappointed in the result.

This gave Alex pause and she ended up ordering that drink when the bartender returned with Maggie's.

After taking a drink, she said, "Sorry about not telling you about my mark sooner. It's just something I don't normally like to talk about and since most people have never seen it because it's on my back, I don't usually have to talk about it. And you seeing it today sort of threw me off …"

"You don't have to apologize," Maggie cut her off. "You are not the first person I've met with a soul mark."

"I know but this is different because …"

"Look you didn't feel comfortable telling me and that is fine," Maggie again cut her off. "I mean I guess now I know why you didn't want to go to that bar with me or seem interested in talking with anyone. After all there is only one person in the whole world you are meant to be with."

The bitterness in that last sentence didn't escape Alex's attention. Now she was even more confused.

And she had had enough of being interrupted.

"When you want to talk about this like two adults let me know," Alex said, putting some money for the drink down and getting off the stool.

"Talk about what?" Maggie asked, looking at her for the first time.

"The fact you are my soul mate," Alex said, turning and walking out.

…

Alex wasn't sure if she was more sad or mad when it was hours later when Maggie showed up at her door.

Maggie didn't wait for Alex to say come in or anything, merely walked past Alex, who then shut the door. As she turned to confront Maggie, Alex stopped as Maggie appeared to be in the midst of taking her pants off.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked just as Maggie began to lower her jeans a bit along with her underwear. Alex averted her eyes quickly.

"Do you see anything?"

"What?"

"Look at me," Maggie said.

Alex looked but kept her eyes on Maggie's eyes and then lowered her gaze.

"Is that …is that the Milky Way?" Alex asked actually getting closer to look at the mark on Maggie's upper thigh. It was captivatingly beautiful that Alex didn't even notice that its placement was quite close to Maggie's more private body parts.

"Yes," Maggie said, pulling her pants back up and fastening it. "And you can see it. You are my soul mate."

"Yeah, I am," Alex said. "I'm sorry if that disappoints you."

"Disappoints me? Why would it disappoint me?" Maggie said.

"You see my mark and you immediately flee and then I go to see you and you're drinking at the bar and you won't even look at me."

"Because … because I thought … damn it, I have feelings for you and I knew it was stupid because I have this mark and I knew I had come in contact with my soul mate the day at the airport because it disappeared but come on, it was the airport so it could be anyone," Maggie said. "And I wanted it to be you, but … at first you said you weren't gay and then you are but you never said you had a mark so … and then when I saw it earlier today, I thought I was seeing it like anyone else would see it which means it wasn't you. I was at that bar because I was upset that I wasn't your soul mate."

"You were?"

"Yes," Maggie smiled, taking a step toward her. "I wanted it to be you."

Maggie came right up to Alex, brushing her hair back from her face and then kissing her. Alex felt like every nerve in her body was experiencing an electric jolt as she kissed back. Maggie pulled back first, the smile still on her face.

"My soul mate," Maggie said.

Alex laughed. "I never thought. God, I hated that mark so much and …"

"Is that why you didn't tell me about it"

"You didn't tell me about yours either, why is that? I mean you told me about your dates and the other women …"

"They all knew," Maggie said. "That is why none of them were more than just dates. I was up front with all of them about my mark so they would know there was no future with me."

"I still don't understand. You told me about dating that woman who covered up her soul mark and you were so angry about it. That is part of why I didn't say anything."

"Come, let's sit, please," Maggie said, taking Alex's hand and leading them over to the couch. Once they sat down, Maggie kept ahold of her hand. "I was upset over that whole thing because she … she was living a lie. She was covering her mark so no one would know that she had one. If you have one of these marks, it comes with a responsibility, a responsibility to not let anyone else think that they have a future with you when they aren't your soul mate. She was willing to let anyone think that they could be more to her. I told her that I had a mark and there would be no future between us, yet she still chose to lie."

"So why tell everyone but me?"

"Because I had just discovered the day I met you that I lost my mark and that was more than a little Earth-shattering than I was expecting," she said. "Honestly, I didn't really consider it was you either because I was at the airport where there were literally hundreds of people. You have to admit that you and I didn't exactly see eye to eye when we met. And like I said, you said you weren't gay."

"Fair," Alex said.

"What about you, why did you say you hated your mark?"

"Well, I don't hate it now," Alex said, but she could tell Maggie was looking for a real answer. She sighed, "My mark isn't in the best of spots for me to see so it was actually my mom who saw it on me first."

She proceeded to tell Maggie about getting the mark, about how she hadn't known it disappeared and how she felt it was unfair to be marked and have the pressure of finding the one. She also spoke of her fear that she would have gone through life without ever finding her.

"But I found you," Alex said.

"Technically, I think I found you."

"It was my crime scene," Alex reminded her.

"Something tells me that is a debate we will be having for a long time," Maggie said, leaning over and kissing her.


End file.
